Demon Juice
2021 · 14m · United States
Directed by Shannon Brown
Genres: comedy, dark comedy, horror
Tones: darkly comic, humorous, theatrical
A group of friends on a weekend getaway at a vacation rental discover a decades-old party drink that's more dangerous than it seems — and one of them drinks it.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A horror-comedy that actually commits to the bit instead of winking at the audience—the premise is genuinely unhinged (a cursed party drink that *works* as both threat and punchline), and Brown refuses to let it settle into safe genre comfort, which is exactly the kind of perverse restraint most filmmakers are too cowardly to attempt.
The film occupies an awkward middle space between Raimi-style horror-comedy excess and indie restraint, and while the tonal control shows promise, it doesn't quite justify its theatrical pitch with the formal rigor needed to feel inevitable rather than clever.
The real lever here is Brown's decision to play the escalation dead-seriously in the faces and dialogue even as the situation spirals absurdly—that commitment to treating the ridiculous with genuine stakes is what transforms a high-concept gimmick into something that actually lands.
Reviews
Brown's direction keeps the pace brisk, and the performances are committed, especially from the lead, who fully embraces the physical comedy of the possession. Demon Juice is a fun, breezy horror-comedy that knows exactly what it is and delivers.